# Chapter 51
“Uh… you’re back?”
Jiwon, who had flung open the front door, hesitated when he saw Suhyun in the living room. He’d thought Suhyun would be in his room even if he had returned.
“Where have you been?”
Jiwon nodded as casually as possible.
“The team leader called me, so I went to the Association.”
“Why did they call you?”
“Hmm….”
The questions continued before he could even take off his shoes. Jiwon removed his shoes and came in to sit in front of Suhyun. Now that he looked more carefully, Suhyun’s expression wasn’t very pleasant.
“Is something wrong?”
Did something happen while he was out?
Or… was it uncomfortable for him to face Jiwon?
He hoped it wasn’t the latter.
“I asked why they called you.”
Jiwon, who had frowned at the negative thoughts rising involuntarily, blinked at Suhyun’s repeated question.
“The director of the American Ability Users Association came. He said he wanted to see me, so I went.”
Thinking about it again, he was an incredibly rude person. Coming to someone else’s country and impulsively demanding to meet someone.
“Why would the Guide-nim meet that person?”
Adam’s face flashed in his mind and quickly disappeared. Suhyun’s tone seemed strangely sharp, which was why.
“I wonder…? I also wondered why they called me.”
Jiwon deliberately responded playfully. But it seemed to be the wrong choice, as Suhyun’s expression sank even further.
He’s not in the mood for jokes, I guess.
Jiwon scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
“He said he’d like me to enter the dungeon with American Espers.”
Then he explained plainly.
“…Are you going to go?”
Of course, Suhyun’s reaction was anything but plain. It was an absurd thing to hear. It would seem even more so if heard without context.
But wouldn’t one usually be surprised first? Why does he seem angry right away?
Jiwon tilted his head curiously.
“…Hey, are you angry? Did something happen outside?”
No matter how he looked at it, anger emanated from Suhyun. But since he hadn’t done anything that would make Suhyun angry, the inference that something had happened outside was fairly reasonable.
“Don’t change the subject.”
Well… it seemed only he thought that way.
Jiwon looked at Suhyun with a mysterious gaze and slowly shook his head. He had no intention of changing the subject. It wasn’t something he needed to do anyway.
“I’m not going.”
Honestly, when he heard Adam’s words, he had considered it a little.
Adam’s speculation—that the reason Suhyun’s wavelength didn’t respond to Riska’s wavelength was because there was something special about Jiwon’s guiding—had sounded plausible.
In fact, just like Adam, Jiwon wanted to put more faith in his own guiding. If it was Jiwon who had the power rather than Suhyun, then there was room for more Espers to be unaffected by Riska, and the situation would be much better than it is now.
“It’s dangerous.”
But that’s only if things went according to plan. If, contrary to speculation, he had no power at all, he would die along with the Esper from America. Then Suhyun, who would lose his Guide, would also have a lower chance of survival.
In a situation where there was already a certain method, he couldn’t risk his life on something uncertain.
“So I refused. But how do you know about this?”
Having given what he thought was a sufficient answer to Suhyun’s question, Jiwon now asked him one.
Suhyun seemed to already know that Jiwon had met Adam and what proposal he had received. It seemed like he was just checking what decision Jiwon had made…
“I was told that both Adam’s visit and his meeting with me were top secret.”
Even if they tried to hide it, news that Adam had come to Korea was likely to leak. However, the fact that he met Jiwon and made such a proposal could easily be kept secret.
Therefore, it was a bit strange that Suhyun was acting as if he already knew everything.
Could it be related to why he left this morning saying he had something to do?
“Did they approach you there?”
Maybe that’s possible. Speaking of the Guide having the key, they might have avoided the Association’s eyes and secretly contacted Suhyun. There was nothing as certain as enticing him to take him to America.
Jiwon’s face contorted as he thought about this. The mere thought that they had used such underhanded tactics to try to take Suhyun away made him feel disgusted.
“What did they say?”
“……”
“Did they ask you to go to America?”
“……”
“Esper-nim?”
Jiwon asked several questions, but Suhyun didn’t give any answers.
If that was the case, he felt like going back to the Association right away and grabbing Adam by the collar to shake him. Where did he get off using such dirty tactics? Jiwon ground his teeth.
“Is it certain?”
However, after a long while, a completely different question from what Jiwon had asked emerged from between Suhyun’s lips.
Jiwon hesitated, unsure of what he meant by “certain,” but he belatedly realized that Suhyun was checking if his refusal of the proposal was definite.
“…Yes. I refused. Why would I… lie about it?”
Suhyun’s distrustful gaze disconcerted Jiwon.
Whether it was because of his newly realized feelings for Suhyun or because after entering dungeons together multiple times, their trust amounted to only this much, he felt somewhat hurt.
“Entering dungeons has always been dangerous from the beginning. But… it’s strange that you would refuse now, citing danger.”
Regardless. Suhyun was expressing his opinion in a low voice.
“Aren’t you the type to take risks? So why not this time?”
It seemed like a reproach, asking why he had refused the proposal.
Suhyun was still maintaining the attitude of dealing with someone telling a lie.
Well… as Suhyun said, perhaps due to his identity as Korea’s only S-class Guide, Jiwon tended to step forward and take risks when major incidents occurred. When Riska first appeared, he was among the first to step up.
Although it was due to the Association’s orders, he would have done so even without them. If no one stepped up, they wouldn’t be able to find a clue to resolve the situation.
But the situation was different now. Jiwon knew better than anyone how an Esper whose mind has been controlled acts inside a dungeon. And also that Suhyun regaining his senses was nothing short of a miracle.
The only one who can solve the Riska dungeon right now is Suhyun. And in this miraculous situation, his only Guide couldn’t risk his life for something else.
“If you’re not asking because you want me to show that kind of attitude, then you’re just curious about why I refused, right?”
Jiwon swallowed a sigh and asked. Jiwon is an essential person to Suhyun. Because he’s his only Guide. So… well, he could be sensitive about this kind of thing.
“Like you, I do step forward and take risks. But I don’t step forward while abandoning what I need to protect.”
“……”
“There’s you, isn’t there? I’m the only Guide for Esper Suhyun who isn’t affected by mental domination, how could I carelessly risk my life?”
“……”
“I do think that much. So, don’t worry….”
“Then, if I get a new Guide, would you go then?”
Jiwon, who had been calmly explaining his position, closed his mouth tightly. It was a question he couldn’t understand what kind of answer was expected.
A new Guide.
The mere thought filled him with displeasure. Of course, if there was a new Guide with a good matching rate with Suhyun, it would be safer… but it was petty that he had thoughtlessly hoped one wouldn’t appear.
Jiwon shook his head.
“I’m not sure. I’d have to see what the new Guide is like… but I don’t think I’d immediately feel the need to risk my life elsewhere.”
How skilled they are. Whether they can definitely stabilize Suhyun. Whether they might put him in danger.
Even after confirming various things, he probably wouldn’t be able to let go. Since he already had a 90% matching rate, he’d keep the new person as an assistant Guide… hmm, it seemed he wouldn’t easily give up his position.
“Are your questions finished?”
After trying to push aside his complicated thoughts, Jiwon asked in a level tone. Suhyun lowered his gaze and opened his lips again.
“You’re sure you refused the proposal, right?”
It was the same question again. At this point, it almost seemed like he was asking because he wanted Jiwon to accept the proposal.
“Do you want me to accept it?”
“No.”
“Then why do you keep asking the same thing? You don’t believe me even when I say no? Do you think I’m lying?”
His voice was level, but it contained a subtle reproach. Come to think of it, Suhyun had seemed in a bad mood from the moment Jiwon entered the house.
Maybe he had been angry thinking Jiwon had already accepted the proposal.
It might be a bit presumptuous to assume, but anyway, if he didn’t want Jiwon to go… fortunately, that didn’t make him feel bad.
“It’s really strange.”
It was just strange, literally.
“Where did you hear this story from, that you keep doubting me instead of believing what I say?”
Who had contacted him and convinced him that Jiwon would accept this proposal? Did Suhyun know someone who would do that?
A natural suspicion arose.
